Ghosts Like it Hot Page 4

  “Exactly. It’s a vacation destination in the height of the season. See if you can find us something if you want, but I doubt you’re going to have much luck.” He handed me his phone before reaching out and running his thumb over my bottom lip. “It will be fine for one night, I promise. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  Unfortunately, Jake was right. Every hotel was booked. I surfed house rental sites, hotels, even the next key. Nothing. One woman actually laughed when I called and asked if they had any availability. “Tonight?” she’d said skeptically. “It’s almost ten o’clock.”

  That wasn’t really an answer but the end result was this—we were stuck on the Wind Jammer.

  I sat on the dock, exhausted, and waited for the cops to finish up their business. It had been a long day of travel and emotional ups and downs. Finally, Captain Mark came over and sat next to me.

  “The police are saying you can go back on board. How are you doing?” he asked, giving me a concerned look. “This has all been shocking, I’m sure.”

  I nodded. “I just wanted a romantic sunset cruise. But how are you? Austin was your friend. I’m sure this is all very upsetting.”

  “It is. I’m worried about Jamie. Cops are pulling surveillance footage to see who was with them when they left the marina this morning.” He shook his head. “Makes you wonder. Of course there is a risk taking strangers on board but then we go out into open water… there is always a chance it won’t go well.”

  “There is. But I guess there is a risk inherent in any business where you need to interact with people solo. Look at taxi and Uber drivers.” Personally, I thought it was the guests who ran the bigger risk. They didn’t know the boat, didn’t know where they were. The owner had the upper hand. Same with drivers. But I didn’t want Mark to think I was suspicious of him, which I was.

  “Do you want to swap sleeping quarters with me tonight?” Mark asked. “The boat I stay on isn’t as nice, but I’ll understand if you want to be somewhere other than where we had Austin laid out for an hour.”

  I thought about that. If it wasn’t as nice as the Wind Jammer, I probably didn’t want to be on that either. I was a bit of a snob, I’m not going to lie. “That’s okay. It wasn’t my first dead body. We’ll be fine.” He didn’t need to know I spent an hour trying to find somewhere else to stay. I wanted him to think I was tough, just in case he was shady.

  He patted my knee, which I could have done without. “Smart girl.”

  What the hell did that mean? Before I could freak out, Jake came over and offered his hand to pull me up.

  “So we’re staying?” he asked.

  I nodded and handed him back his phone.

  “Any chance we can order a pizza or something?” Jake asked Mark. “I’m starving.”

  “Sure. They’ll deliver straight to your slip. Try Peppers. You can order online.”

  With that, the last two remaining cops shook Marner’s and Mark’s hands (yes, they ignored me, but to be fair, I ignored them too) and rolled out. Mark bid us goodnight and pointed out where he was going to be. It was a smaller boat in the next row of slips.

  Jake jumped back onto the Wind Jammer and helped me on board, then immediately sat down and pulled out his phone to order a pizza. There was no evidence of Austin having been on the deck. The water had dried, and he hadn’t been bleeding or anything, so it was almost like it had never happened. It actually felt surreal as I sat down on the bench next to Jake.

  “How hungry are you?” Jake asked. “What size should I order?”

  “I’m not really hungry.” I wasn’t. I’d passed that point. I was just tired. “I’m going to go to bed.”

  He shot me a look of surprise. “Now?”

  “Yes. I’m really tired. I want to wake up fresh tomorrow.”

  Jake looked disappointed, but if he thought I was down for the get down he would be very, very wrong. Not happening. “Okay,” he said. “You don’t mind if I order a pizza?”

  “No. Come to bed whenever you want.” It would probably allow me to fall sleep better knowing he was awake and alert on deck. I would feel safer.

  He gave me a kiss. “Goodnight. Tomorrow will be better.”

  I wasn’t about to say it couldn’t be worse because Fate would be like “Hold my beer.”

  “The sunset was beautiful,” I said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Then, clearly distracted by his stomach, he went back to his phone and his pending pizza purchase.

  I went down into the cabin and checked my phone. Blank screen. It was toast from the ocean dunking. Then I pulled out my toiletries and went into the head. I gave up on doing anything other than brushing my teeth. There was zero room and no washcloths. The damp floor was grossing me out, so I just went back to the bedroom and pulled on a sleep shirt. The lingerie was on hold until further notice.

  Sleep came almost immediately, which was shocking. I would have thought I’d lie there freaking out and fretting. You know, my usual style. But I went down in about three minutes flat.

  A crash woke me up. I jerked in the bed, disoriented, heart racing. For a second, I had no idea where I was, then I remembered. Key West. The Wind Jammer. Dead body.

  I rolled to wake up Jake and ask him if he’d heard the noise.

  Jake wasn’t in bed with me.

  Then I heard a gunshot.

  Four

  I was too terrified to scream. I just gripped the blanket to my chest and tried to see in the dark, listening for any further sounds. Like footsteps coming down into the cabin belonging to my killer.

  What I actually heard was footsteps that sounded like they were on the dock, not the boat. Shouts. Running.

  Where was Jake?

  Thinking it could be him who had been shot, I threw back the blanket and leaped out of the bed. I fell on my pile of luggage, and spilled out into the hallway, knocking my hip painfully. But I barely felt anything, panic crawling up my throat. If I lost Jake, I didn’t even know what I would do.

  But he was already coming down the stairs, looking fully functional and not bleeding anywhere. “Stay down here,” he said, holding his hand out to warn me off.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  A sudden terrifying thought gripped me. What if Jake was dead? What if this was his ghost warning me?

  Feeling like I might pass out, I gripped his arms just to reassure myself he was solid.

  I mean, it was possible, and how bad would that suck? His ghost trying to protect me.

  He was solid and alive. His skin was warm. My shoulders sagged in relief.

  “I don’t know what’s going on. It’s not that close to us, though. In the marina, but not that close.”

  “Close to where Austin’s boat was docked?”

  “I don’t know. Stay here. I’m going to check and see what’s going on.”

  “Don’t leave me here!” I grabbed his arm again. “I’ll be a sitting duck.”

  “Just lock the cabin door. Stay inside until I get back.”

  I knew there was no talking him out of it so I just said, “Be safe.”

  He kissed my forehead. Jake was still dressed in his clothes, so I didn’t think it was that late. He hadn’t even been to bed. I went back down into the cabin and got dressed. If I was going to be killed, it wasn’t going to be in a T-shirt that said, “Cleveland or Nowhere.” That was just too damn ominous sounding in this context.

  Wearing jeans and a tank top, debated what to do. Sure, I could lock myself in the cabin. But that sounded like agony, just waiting. I didn’t really think I was in danger or any sort of target and I was curious what was going on. So I crept up the stairs slowly, letting my eyes adjust to the dark. The marina was actually well lit, so it wasn’t that difficult to see actually. I could see Jake’s half-eaten pizza sitting on the bench. He’d been eating in the open air, probably enjoying the gentle breeze and warm temperatures.

  There was definitely movement all around the marina. Loud voices raised in co
ncern, clusters of people, arms waving. It wasn’t hysteria, more like the aftermath of an incident where everyone is trying to figure out what just happened.

  I was crouched down, trying to watch without being detected. Austin slid in beside me.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, gripping the boat with his fingers the same way I was.

  “There was a gunshot.”

  “Shouldn’t you be below deck, then?”

  “I wanted to see what is happening.” I was whispering.

  Austin whispered back. “This doesn’t seem smart. By the way, what’s your name?”

  “It’s Bailey Burke. I’m on vacation with my boyfriend, Jake Marner.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  Austin was by far the most cheerful ghost I had met to date. He seemed remarkably unconcerned with the fact that he was dead.

  “Nice to meet you too. You don’t have any idea who would want to harm you, do you?”

  “Nope. I’m a pretty chill guy.”

  “I can tell. I wish I was chill. But I’m more like shaken and stirred.”

  He gave a soft laugh. “Worrying never changed anything. Just robs you of happiness.”

  “I agree with you in theory, but I’m supposed to be on vacation and I found you floating in the ocean. Now my boyfriend is somewhere out there and we heard a gunshot. Certain things require worrying.”

  “Hey, I’m the one who said you should be below deck. I said don’t worry, not get crazy.”

  Judged by a dead guy. Wonderful.

  I saw a figure coming toward the boat and realized with huge relief it was Jake.

  Of course, he saw me at the same time I saw him.

  “What about stay below and lock the door did you not understand?” he said dryly, dropping onto the boat so casually I knew whatever danger there was it had presumably passed.

  I stood up from my crouched position. “I wanted to see what was going on.”

  Austin turned and sat down on the deck, crossing his ankles. He tossed his long hair back and looked like he was settling in for the night.

  “Some knucklehead got all jumpy about the missing boat and Austin being found and thought he heard an intruder on board. Got out his gun and dropped it. It discharged but no one was hurt.”

  “Was there an intruder? Also, I love that you just referred to someone as a knucklehead. You sounded like my father.”

  “No. It was a seagull flying past.” Jake rolled his eyes. “Now my pizza is going to be cold. And please don’t ever tell me I sound like your father.”

  “If the knucklehead fits… What time is it, by the way? My phone is shot.” Shot might not be the best term to use. But neither was dead. “My phone is non-functioning.”

  “Just after midnight.”

  “The boat is still missing?”

  “Yes.” Jake went over to the pizza box and lifted a piece in disgust. “I hate cold cheese.”

  “Wasn’t there a tiny microwave in the galley?” I had noted it and the coffeemaker. The microwave wasn’t something I’d anticipated using, but I always, without fail, need to lay eyes on my source for coffee. I can’t function without my warm bean juice in the morning.

  “Really? Good.” He took the piece of pizza in his hand and went below.

  I followed him because I didn’t want to be alone up there. Which makes no sense, I realize, given I’d just spent ten minutes crouched up there solo. Aside from Austin, who couldn’t protect me from a blow to the head.

  Jake tossed the pizza in the microwave and pushed the button. “I can admit that this was a poor choice in terms of accommodations. We can look for another place to stay tomorrow.”

  “For one night? No one is going to let us do that. This is fine. We’ll just stick it out. Isn’t Mark supposed to take us to Dry Tortugas tomorrow? We can still do that.”

  “You still want to do that?” He looked hopeful.

  I shrugged. “Why not? Nothing is going to change the fact that we found a dead guy but it shouldn’t shake up our whole vacation.” I did not want to stay on the Wind Jammer. Not that night and not the next night, but I didn’t see much of a choice. We’d never find another place to stay for one night and then we were on to a romantic hotel with room service that we’d booked weeks ago, so I could tough it out. “Do we trust Mark?”

  “I don’t see any reason not to.”

  He took his pizza out and we went back up on deck. I happen to like cold pizza, so I helped myself to a slice. I’d gotten hungry and I doubted I would be able to sleep any time soon. I’d gone to bed earlier than usual and had been ripped out of sleep. Adrenaline was still coursing through my veins.

  “I like your outfit,” Jake said, eyeing my tank top.

  “How can you think about sex after a day like today?”

  “I can always think about sex.”

  “Obviously.” I gestured to the opposite side where Austin was sitting. “But we have company.”

  Jake paused with his pizza slice halfway to his mouth. “Who?”

  “Austin Columbia. He’s sitting on the deck.”

  My boyfriend tossed his pizza back onto the box in total disgust. He sighed. “Does he remember anything that happened?”

  “I haven’t asked. Do you want me to?” This wasn’t our turf. I wasn’t sure what, if anything, we could do to help an investigation.

  “I want to say no. But the detective in me wants to say yes.” Jake rubbed his chin. “I hate myself.”

  Chewing, I let him wrestle with himself. I knew the feeling. I felt morally obligated to help any ghost who appeared to me, but it was damn inconvenient.

  “Screw it. Ask him.”

  “I don’t know what happened,” Austin said. “Not to eavesdrop but I couldn’t help but hear you. Last thing I recall is setting out with Jamie and our guests. A couple from New York. We were taking them to Cuba for an overnight sail.”

  “Cuba?” I asked. “Is that safe?”

  “Yes. For the most part. It’s a killer fee for a rig like ours. Huge profit margin. We’ve only done a few in the year we’ve been down here.”

  “Everything seemed normal? You didn’t see pirates or anything?”

  “Nope. Smooth sailing.”

  I relayed all of that to Jake.

  “Then, the only thing I can conclude is one of the three other passengers shot him. Did he piss his wife off? Have an affair?”

  “Nah,” Austin said. “We’re not like that. We don’t get jealous. We just let it ride.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means a lot of times we’ll invite another woman home with us. Jamie likes women too and a good time is had by all.”

  “They had a lot of threesomes,” I told Jake. “His wife likes women too.”

  Jake’s eyebrows rose.

  “I’ve never been with another woman without her, no lie. It wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”

  “I appreciate your honesty. Also, the fact that you’re not harassing me.”

  Austin saluted me. “No problem, Bailey. If you and the mister want to get it on, just let me know. I’ll roll. I think. I think I can go other places. Might be fun to find out.”

  “If you want, you can come back in the morning,” I said.

  Jake gave me a look like I’d said something insane.

  What? Austin was being respectful. It was the least I could do. After months of asshole ghosts, he was a breath of fresh spirit air.

  “That’s cool. I’m going to see if I can hit up that waiting room I saw earlier. The processing department or something like that. It looked a lot like the DMV so I didn’t stick around but maybe I should take a number or whatever.”

  “That’s a good plan. Goodnight.”

  “Ciao, Bailey.”

  Austin disappeared.

  “We’re alone,” I told Jake. “He seems nice.”

  “Sometimes you don’t even understand how nuts all of this sounds.”

  I bit my pizza and ripped off a piece with
gusto. “No one is more aware than me how nuts all of this is. I’m just a passenger on the crazy train my life has become.”

  “If you could stop seeing ghosts tomorrow, would you?”

  “What do you mean? Like pause it for a day?”

  “No. Have it go away totally. Forever.”

  “Yes.” I said it with zero hesitation.

  But as I chewed, I wondered if that were true anymore.

  At first, I absolutely would have said that. But there had been positives.

  Yes, I’d been in danger more times than I cared to count. But I have given several ghosts peace and that was worth something.

  “You know, we wouldn’t be together if I hadn’t started seeing ghosts,” I said. It was true. Marner and I hadn’t even been talking after Ryan’s death. We’d been avoiding each other. It was only when Ryan had showed up in my kitchen that I had started poking around and had contacted Jake.

  “We might be anyway. You don’t know.” He gave me a smile. “I’ve always been hot for you.”

  That made me laugh. “You are such a liar.”

  “Why would I lie about that?” Jake took my hand and started massaging my fingers. “Do you want me to tell you about the first day we met? You were wearing a navy blue dress for your interview at the station. It was windy as hell and you came in, pushing your hair out of your face, and biting your lip. You looked nervous and beautiful and I thought ‘Wow. I want to know this woman.’”

  For being a man who frequently looked annoyed with me, Jake could be pretty damn romantic. I was flattered that he actually remembered the moment we met, and what I was wearing. That had been a cute dress, by the way.

  “And I thought you were tall, dark, and handsome.” He hadn’t been a detective yet and his beat cop uniform had struck me as ridiculously sexy.

  I was no exception to women liking a guy in uniform. I was easily swayed by work boots and handcuffs.

  “Slow start, but we would have wound up together. I’m sure of it.”

  For whatever reason, he seemed to need me to agree. I needed him on my side. So I nodded. “Totally.”

  The water was calm, the boat barely moving at the dock. The marina had calmed down again and a few boats over I heard jazz music softly playing. The sky was dark, the moon high and bright.